Mr. Speaker, yesterday was the 135th anniversary of the hanging of Louis Riel, who was executed at the insistence of the federal government for standing up for the Métis nation when Ottawa wanted to seize their land.
The Bloc Québécois moved a motion in the House calling on the government to exonerate Louis Riel as soon as possible, but the motion was defeated. It was an opportunity to right a wrong at a time when Canada wants to reconcile with the first nations. Instead, this House chose to defend its colonialist, racist legacy. It was an opportunity to respect the National Assembly of Quebec, which unanimously called on the federal government to exonerate Louis Riel last week. Instead, this chamber chose to defend the legacy of John A. Macdonald, who said that “[Louis Riel] shall die though every dog in Quebec bark in his favour.”
Clearly, 135 years later, the execution of Louis Riel continues to divide nations. The House of Commons chose the same side yet again, the side of the oppressors.